Call girl charged in Google exec's heroin death in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ &GT;&GT; Model, makeup artist and self-described "hustler" Alix Catherine Tichelman got all of the attention and none of the glamor she had been seeking when she appeared in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on Wednesday, facing felony charges of manslaughter, heroin possession and other allegations.

Wearing black eyeliner, red lipstick and red jail clothes, the 26-year-old from Folsom is accused of killing 51-year-old Google executive Forrest Hayes of Santa Cruz with a lethal dose of heroin on his luxury yacht in November, authorities said.

Sometimes looking directly into cameras pointed at her by local and San Francisco Bay Area media representatives who crowded the courtroom, Tichelman was appointed public defender Diana August. Tichelman, the daughter of a Sacramento-area tech CEO, did not enter a plea. Judge Timothy Volkmann ordered her back in court July 16 for further arraignment.

Authorities said Tichelman initially met Hayes and other Silicon Valley executives at SeekingArrangement.com for sexual encounters that fetched $1,000 or more. Tichelman met Hayes on his white, 50-foot yacht, "Escape," in the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor the night of Nov. 22. She brought heroin and needles into the yacht's cabin where she injected Hayes, causing him to overdose, said Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark.

A security camera in the cabin showed her pack her drugs and syringes into her purse, clean off a table and draw a window blind. When she stepped over Hayes' lifeless body to drink from a glass of wine, she left behind a fingerprint on the glass, which helped investigators to identify her, Clark said.

The yacht's captain found Hayes dead the next morning.

When authorities obtained security footage from the boat via a court order despite the objection of the boat captain, police matched Tichelman to the video in part by her tattoos, police said. Black designs run along her forearms, and a red and black tattoo adorns her left shoulder. Clark said Tichelman and Hayes appear fully clothed in the video.

Tichelman also faces charges of possession, administration and transportation of drugs — all felonies — as well as misdemeanors of destroying evidence, engaging in prostitution and agreeing to prostitution.

Charges filed

"If the evidence shows that murder can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then we'll certainly evaluate that when that's presented," Vazquez told reporters.

"She knew the act was dangerous to human life and she acted deliberately and in conscious disregard for human life," Vazquez wrote in the criminal complaint.

Friends and co-workers described Hayes as an intelligent and decisive man with a passion for his work and family.

He was married with five children: including daughters ages 25, 22 and 11, and twin 3-year-olds, a boy and a girl, according to court documents filed in February. Hayes died without a will. The probate document list a Porsche, Mercedes, Toyota Sienna, Ford Expedition, Chevrolet Volt, Google stock and other assets that were community property of his wife, Denise Hayes. The family bought their Westlake house, complete with ocean views, a pool and five bedrooms, for $3 million in 2011.

The yacht was removed from its slip at B dock at the Santa Cruz Harbor months ago, harbor officials said.

Media representatives hounded the Hayes family at their home near UC Santa Cruz on Wednesday. Family members declined to comment on Hayes' death, and Santa Cruz police asked national and local media to respect their privacy and not to come to their door.

Clark said the Hayes' family are victims as well.

"They are a good and decent family who don't deserve to be subject to a lot of the comments and the attention," Clark said. "It's unfortunate that they have to live through it again."

'Good and decent'

Hayes joined Apple in 2005 and worked there for several years, according to a brief profile on the business networking website LinkedIn. He started working for Mountain View-based Google about a year ago and joined its secretive "X" division, which is responsible for what the company likes to call "moon shot" projects including self-driving cars and the computer headset known as Glass.

Google and Apple representatives declined to discuss Hayes' tenure or responsibilities at those companies. But posts on a memorial website indicate that he helped oversee hardware manufacturing at Apple and worked with suppliers and contractors involved in the Glass project at Google.

Police have not said when Hayes' first crossed paths with Tichelman but said they had an ongoing relationship.

Her social media trail is coated with references to medical-grade marijuana, modeling, makeup tips and the macabre. She also notes heroin and killing sprees on one of her Facebook accounts.

"It's really nice to talk with someone about killing sprees and murdering people in cold blood ... and they love it too," she wrote. "No judgement (sic). Yay!"

Tichelman's Facebook page said she graduated from high school in Atlanta and studied journalism at Georgia State University. She described herself as an aspiring model, makeup artist, writer, exotic dancer and "hustler." Her father, Bart Tichelman, is the CEO of Folsom software firm SynapSense. He could not be reached for comment.

Last week, Santa Cruz police lured Alix Tichelman back to Santa Cruz under the guise of a wealthy john seeking a tryst, and arrested her when she showed up at a luxury hotel. Officers were spurred to act by a June 30 Facebook post suggesting she was planning to leave the state.

"I AM COMING HOME TO THE FILTHY, NASTY, DIRTY SOUTH!" Tichelman wrote four days before her arrest. "Hoping to start the drive back to Atlanta at the beginning of next week. Can't wait to see everyone. Its celebration time y all!"

Santa Cruz police said they continued to probe Tichelman's possible involvement in another suspicious death out of state, but they declined to elaborate.

Her criminal record includes a night in the Fulton County, Georgia jail on Sept. 6, 2013 after police arrested her for false report of a crime and battery.

USA Today reported that Tichelman's boyfriend, 53-year-old music club owner Dean Riopelle, died on Sept. 24, 2013 after a heart attack led to a coma. News reports in local newspapers said he had won approval a few months prior to house exotic animals, including monkeys, at his house.

Tichelman posted on social media several times in 2013 about her love of monkeys and her boyfriend.

She remained in Santa Cruz County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $1.5 million bail, according to jail records.